This is late, I know and alas I am trying to remedy the situation by hurriedly writing the next chapter after this! Thanks to all who reviewed and added this story to their alerts etc

Chapter 7

Shit. The first word that Clary thought when she opened her eyes. Valentine will be furious. Not only had she not gone home that evening, but she had neglected to contact him regarding her whereabouts. Jonathan was no doubt home and taking most of his anger, which in turn would only fuel him and ultimately contribute to the carnage that would await her when she walked through her door. Sitting up in bed she realised with a start that she was in Jace's room, and judging by the cool feel of the sheets beside her, he had been gone for a while. Whilst rummaging with her hand she felt a piece of paper.

Had to go. Things to do. Sorry for last night, it was a mistake.

What was a mistake?! Clary panicked. Him saying what he said or spending the night with me in general…so he didn't mean it? Shocked at the cold nature of the note in contrast to the last words he had said Clary came back down to earth slightly. Obviously he didn't mean it you moron, he's barely said two words to you before. It was whatever he was spiked with by Jo-

Clary felt the unmistakeable wave of dread sink into the pit of her stomach when she remembered the scene he had caused, as well as hurting Max. Forgetting about Jace for a moment, and brandishing thoughts of being an angel from her mind, Clary immediately jumped out of bed and headed for the door, meaning to check on him and see if he was okay. Catching a glimpse of what she looked like in the mirror she blanched at the lack of cover, grabbing what she assumed was Jace's hoodie to cover herself a bit. Wandering around she found Izzy in the kitchen who smiled as she walked in.

"Was wondering when you'd emerge from the infamous bedroom, Jace said he had to run some errands by the way and didn't want to wake you."

Clary ran a hand through her tangled hair; sighing as she realised Max was grabbing some cereal behind the counter. Following her glance, Izzy got up and swiftly enveloped Clary in a hug.

"You don't have to go back there just now, having seen what your brother is capable of I could never willingly send you back to face his wrath." Wiping a stray tear running down Clary's face, something Clary seemed to be reduced to often of late, Izzy grabbed her some food and told her to feel welcome here.

"God knows this place is big enough to shelter an entire village." Was the final sentence before they lapsed into a comfortable silence, before Izzy looked at the time and with a start exclaimed "Shit Simon's going to be late for his band practice! One second."

For the second time in less that 12 hours Clary found the courage to whisper two words again.

"Thank you."

Come on Jace, pull yourself together. While walking aimlessly Jace tried to rid himself of the red-haired beauty that for all he knew was still in his bed. Having found out where Clary lived from the school database he had decided that paying the Morgenstern's a small visit wouldn't go amiss. There was no way that he was letting her go back there without checking the situation out, whether she knew he cared or not. Cared Jace scoffed at the word in his head, This is for Max, not her. These thoughts sustained him but not for long, he was becoming increasingly aware of the effect Clary had on him. Walking up to the house he peered into the nearby window, noting that all the lights were off. Great, just what I need Jace smiled, realising that there was no car in the driveway either. Hoping nobody was in he did a quick check of the exterior, an important initial task when preparing to do a light breaking and entering of a property. Despite having moved on from causing trouble for the Lightwood's, at least in mildly criminal ways, Jace felt that this was a necessary step in ensuring his Cl-Max's safety.

Ten minutes later and he was in, with the lock-picking tools required for this kind of job serving their purpose well. The lack of an alarm unsettled Jace slightly as he recognised that there was one, meaning the most likely explanation was that the residents had only gone out briefly as the silence meant it was empty now. He'd have to work quickly. Swiftly moving through the ground floor, finding only a locked basement door of any significant interest Jace moved upstairs and walked into the first room he could find. With an easel propped up by the window next to the green curtains, Jace could only imagine that this was Clary's room. Intrigued, he gingerly stepped in, eager to see what she was painting. Craning his neck past the nearly empty canvas he saw sketches strewn across an old mahogany desk. Leafing through aimlessly he found them equally exquisite until he came to one that stopped him dead in his tracks. A closeup of a face, with immaculately captured detail rendering the sketch almost to a photograph Jace's eyes widened as he took in the sight before him, noting the bottom left writing 'Jace'. Hearing a noise he snatched the sketch up with his hands and immediately stiffened, looking for the nearest available exit. This was not the time or the place to get distracted from the task at had, which was to make Jonathan know that he wasn't to be messed with.

Judging by the sound of voices from downstairs now would not be the time that Jonathan got the shit scared out of him, Jace had no intention of being caught breaking and entering again. Waiting for the sound of the front door to be securely shut he eased the window in Clary's room open slightly. Judging by the angry shouts from downstairs he wouldn't be heard. Looking out the window Jace judged the distance to the ground and, deciding with the help of the drainpipe he could manage it, edged out of the window and lowered himself to the ground. Landing on the grass with a successful thud, Jace smiled, self-satisfied, and dusting his hands off began to walk off home.

A hand with an iron grasp suddenly attached to his shoulder, rendering him unable to move any further. Shit, thought Jace.

I'm not very happy with this in addition to finding it hard to find much direction for the storyline, have been a bit preoccupied with my other mortal instruments fic which you should check out if interested!